Shoppers have been facing higher prices in supermarkets as the cost of living crisis deepens across the UK. The nation is enduring the worst cost of living crisis in 40 years as inflation rocketed to 9 per cent in April, which is expected to rise later this year.
This is driving up the prices of even some of the most basic supermarket items, meaning your weekly shop is more expensive than it once was a few months back. Each week our sister site, Manchester Evening News, has been comparing prices of essentials like milk and bread to keep track of the cheapest places to buy the products many of us use every day.
The MEN has been looking at the cost of the same eight items - a two-pint bottle of milk, a loaf of bread, coffee, teabags, butter, beans, chicken breasts and mince - at some of the biggest supermarket retailers (Tesco, Asda, Aldi, Lidl, Sainsbury's and Morrisons). Only last week they reported how Lidl had swiped the cheapest crown for all eight products, coming in at £9.82.
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Despite it putting up the price of milk and butter last week, it has still kept its bill lower than any of the other stores, at £9.91. The biggest shock however is Morrisons, which just three weeks ago was wearing the cheapest crown itself, with a bill of £9.78 for the shopping basket.
Now it's coming in at £10.91 and working out as the most expensive of all - taking the unfortunate spot from Sainsbury's for the first time. Three separate increases have put it there this week - its cheapest loaf of bread rising from 39p to 54p, chicken up to £2.49 for a 300g pack of two breasts and mince rising from £1.89 to £2.19.
Those meat prices are higher than any of the other supermarkets and the mince is 50p more expensive than the cheapest, which is Asda's new Just Essentials pack for £1.69. It's not just Morrisons putting prices up though.
Lidl, Tesco and Sainsbury's have joined the others in putting the cost of 2 pints of milk up to £1.05 from 99p, the latter two also increasing the cost of their chicken. And Lidl has increased the cost of its butter from £1.69 to £1.72, albeit still selling it cheaper than elsewhere.
This week the overall shopping bill has risen at four supermarkets - Lidl, Tesco, Sainsbury's and Morrisons.
The only slight difference in sizes in our shopping is the baked beans, which range from 400g in Sainsbury's and 410g in Asda and Morrisons, to the standard 420g in Aldi, Lidl and Tesco. Although, where Asda's pack of chicken is larger, MEN has worked out a fairer comparison.
Lidl
- Loaf of white bread 800g - 36p
- Milk 2 pints - £1.05 (up from 99p)
- Coffee 200g - £1.69
- Teabags 160 - £99p
- Salted butter 250g - £1.72 (up from £1.69)
- Beans 420g tin - 22p
- Chicken 300g - £1.99
- Mince 500g 20% fat - £1.89
Total £9.91 (up from £9.82)
Asda
- Loaf of white bread 800g (Smart Price) - 39p
- Milk 2 pints - £1.05
- Coffee 200g (2 x 100g Just Essentials) - £1.50
- Teabags 160 (4 x 40-pack Smart Price) - £1.12
- Salted butter 250g - £1.75
- Beans 410g tin (Smart Price) - 25p
- Chicken (bigger 350g pack for £2.65) - equates to £2.27
- Mince 500g 20% fat - £1.69
Total £10.02
Aldi
- Loaf of white bread 800g - 36p
- Milk 2 pints - £1.05
- Coffee 200g - £1.69
- Teabags 160 - £1.09
- Salted butter 250g - £1.75
- Beans 420g tin - 22p
- Chicken 300g - £1.99
- Mince 500g 20% fat - £1.89
Total £10.04
Tesco
- Loaf of white bread 800g - 36p
- Milk 2 pints - £1.05 (up from 99p)
- Coffee 200g (2 x 100g) - £1.70
- Teabags 160 (2 x 80-pack) - £1.10
- Salted butter 250g - £1.75
- Beans 420g tin - 22p
- Chicken 300g - £2.25 (up from £2.20)
- Mince 500g 20% fat - £1.89
Total £10.32 (up from £10.21)
Sainsbury's
- Loaf of white bread 800g - 36p
- Milk 2 pints - £1.05 (up from 99p)
- Coffee 200g £2 (up from £1.69)
- Teabags 160 - £1.09
- Salted butter 250g - £1.75 (down from £1.90)
- Beans 400g tin - 21p
- Chicken 300g - £2.40 (up from £2.30)
- Mince 500g 20% fat - £1.89 (down from £2.10)
Total £10.75 (up from £10.64)
Morrisons
- Loaf of white bread 800g - 54p (up from 39p)
- Milk 2 pints - £1.05
- Coffee (2 x 100g) - £1.50
- Teabags 160 (2 x 80-pack Savers) - £1.18
- Salted butter 250g - £1.75
- Beans 410g tin - 21p
- Chicken 300g - £2.49 (up from £2.05)
- Mince 500g 20% fat - £2.19 (up from £1.89)
Total £10.91 (up from £10.02)
Read next:
We repeated a £10 Aldi shop one year on to see how food prices have changed
